New Team Member, Kukai's girl
by Kitty McGee
Summary: Kukai's football team is down a few members, he knows exactly who he'll ask to sub in. With the competition comingr up, will anyone notice that their forward is a pretty and girly-voiced? Thank the Goddess Amu doesn't have breasts. No Utau and Kukai here!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi Minna~!**

**Amu and Kukai, probably like strawberries and cream. **

**Don't get me wrong!; I'm an Amuto fan at heart! But damn! Amu and Kukai got a good thing going on there, huh?**

**Unfourtunately, Kukai has been paired with more people then Amu herself; Sion, Amu, Utau, Yaya...even Tadase!!!**

**But...this is a fanfiction website. And here, we are aloud dream to our heart's content! So let us worship the pairing Amu and Kukai!! :)**

**Enjoy and please review ;D**

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"You did well today, Kukai," Utau cheered and threw him a towel.

"Thanks," he said, the sound of football boots came suddenly, two dozen pairs of them all clicked and banged against the concrete.

"I don't think so," I commented, sticking up my nose, "Your loosing it, Kukai."

"Amu!" Utau nudged me.

"Oh? You think so, Hinamori? It sounds like your up for a challenge!"

Of course Utau was now hopelessly in love with him, and that's why she nudged me. But I knew Kukai longer and better and knew his game and was able to comment on it any way I liked. Utau didn't know this, of course, because this was one of the only practice's of his she got to attend due to her busy schedule. Kukai always thought everything was a challenge.

"I don't think so, Souma."

"Suit yourself. I'll get a match with you someday!" he swore, giving me his signature thumbs up and taking a long drink from a bottle.

As we were walking home, Kukai and Utau obviously didn't trust me to walk home myself, Kukai's phone went off. I didn't know he was a fan of C-ute until I heard that ring tone. Embarrassed, he flipped it open.

"H-Hello? … Yes. … He, what? … I had no idea. … Are you sure? … Of course. Ok. … Bye."

Me and Utau were listening intently, but of course only got to hear half of the conversation.

"Is everything okay?" I asked him, as he put his phone away.

"It's just…Matsuda broke his leg."

"That's horrible!" I cried, knowing that Matsuda was their mid-field and their best yet, too.

"He won't be able to play in the tournament this year."

"What will you do?" Utau asked, finally speaking up.

"I'm not sure…all our substitutes are going on a school trip for the first two weeks in summer and we have no other replacement," he explained, worried.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Utau told him and put her hand on his shoulder, "Right, Amu?"

"Of course. Your real smart, Sempai!" I told him, hoping he would feel better.

He nodded and I waved goodbye to them as soon as I reached my house. Inside waiting were four Charas.

The next day, school went really slowly and I almost fell asleep a few times in class. I came out and saw Kukai, surrounded by girls, at the school's gates.

"Kukai-sempai? What are you doing here?" I asked, happily. But I remembered that the Guardians weren't to meet up today.

"I want to ask you something," he said, taking me by the hand then looking at the group of his primary school fan girls he finished, "Alone!"

They left 'Kyah-ing' making me wonder what he had to ask me.

"Amu…"

"Oh sempai…" I blushed, turning my toes toward each other, "I wonder why you picked now to ask me this."

I was prepared for him to ask me out on a date.

"So you know what I'm going to ask you?" he questioned, in shock.

"Yeah…"

"Oh, how did you know I was going to ask you to join the team?"

"Ehh?! Join the team?! You mean your football team?!"

"Yup. The boys are waiting for you to come down because they don't believe your as good as football as I say you are. You have P.E. today if I can remember from last year…so you have your P.E. gear…that will do. Let's go!"

He pulled me by the hand down the road, my schoolbag almost falling out of my hand once or twice and pushed me towards the girls' changing rooms in his school. They were much bigger then ours and it was flooded with girls of all ages. There was benches and huge lockers, too. I found an empty space in a corner and began to undress. When I was done, I stood out among the other girls, who were wearing hockey, tennis, gymnastics and basketball gear…all in green. I was wearing the Seiyo academy P.E. outfit, a navy leotard, a white shirt and navy shorts.

"Hey…you don't go to school here," one girl commented when she seen my outfit.

"I know…I'm with someone else," I explained, trying to shove my skirt into my schoolbag, I wasn't prepared to use a locker that wasn't mine.

"Who?" asked another girl, with her hand on her hip and flicked back her short, black hair.

"He's a boy who goes to this school, he's not here right now, obviously," I managed to say, nervously.

"Well, I don't think your aloud get dressed here," explained a kinder, tall girl with chestnut hair, zipping up her bag and sounding as if she wanted to help me rather then judge me.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologised and bowed to them all, "He said I could…"

"Who is he?" another girl with long, blonde hair asked, just finishing getting on her shirt.

"Souma Kukai."

"Kukai-sempai?" a bunch of girls all yelled at the same time.

"She's joking!" "How dare she make fun of Kukai-sempai like that!" "Who does she think she is?"

My 'cool and spicy' attitude kicked in at that moment.

"Excuse me, but I'm Hinamori Amu and…Kukai-sempai just happens to be my good friend. Now, if you'll excuse me…" I said, pushing my way through the girls and out the door. Phew.

"Hinamori Amu?" I heard a girl from inside wail, "Didn't she date a thousand older guys here?"

"I heard she did more then just date them!"

"She's being moved up to Kukai's class when she joins this school because she picks on teachers!"

"And she doesn't even have to be smart…she cheats through all her tests too!"

More and more rumours started. So I was known in Kukai's school too…I think I would prefer to be "Hinamori Amu who defeated a football team, whose parents are famous and who dates French boys" like what's said in Seiyo then what they say about me here. It seems to be so different here…

Kukai and a bunch of other boy's in uniform came out of the changing rooms.

"Hey, Hinamori!" Kukai called to me and I waved back.

"Wow…it's really true," I heard a voice say as we walked off, "Trust our God, Souma-sempai to find himself someone as popular as Hinamori Amu.

Kukai handed me a pair of old football boots.

"I borrowed these from my friend's sister. They should fit you."

I was glad they were an old pair, because they fit nice and snug.

"They fit. Thanks-"

"So this is Hinamori Amu?" a boy who I recognised as their defence say, "If she's as good as the rumours about her say, we should be okay."

He left laughing.

"Don't mind him, the rumours aren't so bad," Kukai consoled me and pulled his laces tight.

When we got to the pitch, a boy kicked a football in my direction, obviously to test me, and I stopped it right away.

"Try and take a goal," a big, beefy boy called to me, "Just you try…Koshiwa's our best goalie ever!"

I was glad I left Ran at home, or she would be too tempted to Chara change with me at that moment. I took two steps back from the ball and quickly looked up to see my target. I ran and kicked the ball smoothly at the same time. It flew through the air and glided past the goalie's head. He tried to catch it, but it was too late. The ball was sent flying through his hands and into the back of the net.

They even asked me to do it again a few more times, but their goalie was too easy for me. Then they asked me to do it while tackling some of the biggest on their team. I instantly knew that they would rely on pure strength to stop me, but I was smarter then that. I was quick on my feet and dodged the first boy with no trouble at all. For the second boy, I leaned to the right, but swiftly controlled the ball and flew past the left. For the last boy, I held the ball between my feet, jumped in the air, and sent the ball flying over my shoulder. The confused boy didn't see where it was going, and I ran behind him, taking the ball and with one hard kick, let it roll between the goalie's legs.

"Sh-She's good," one of the boy's admitted, scratching his head.

"Good. But not as good as you, Kukai-sempai!" smiled another before ruffling my hair.

"So the girl joins the team!" Kukai proposed, thrusting his fist into the air. The other boys nodded.

"But wait…Kukai! I'm pretty sure girls aren't aloud on the team. The referee might think of it as an advantage to the team…" I cried, when I suddenly thought of it.

Kukai took his yellow and green cap from his head and stood behind me. He gathered my hair and put it up in the cap. He walked around me to see if I looked okay.

"Does she look like a he, boys?" he asked his team-mates, turning to face them.

"Not really…" one boy sighed.

"Of course she does!" he argued, then turned back to face me, "Think of yourself as Tadase or Nagihiko…not all of us were born with such manly looks!"

Two of his team-mates gave him a high five and they flexed their muscles, as if they were huge and manly. I couldn't help but laugh out aloud. A quick training followed and I ended up exhausted at the end.

"What's wrong Hinamori?" asked the familiar voice behind me.

"I ran our of water…" I explained as I rummaged through my bag.

"Have some of mine," he replied, offering his only drink.

"Eugh…no thanks."

"Why? Geez I haven't even taken a drink from it yet."

"Really?"

"Yeah…"

I reluctantly took a long drink from it then handed it back. I wiped my forehead

"Thanks, Kukai. You're a lifesaver."

I walked home after that, happy.

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**Ehhh..so how was that? Nobody out of character so far...**

**Just wish me luck on this one, I'll need it. Kukamu fans can be pretty fiery :S**

**Lol, jk xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Minna! I bet you think I'm really lazy huh?**

**Geez that Kitty McGee, she can't even finish a fan fiction, can she? What a loser? **

**Lol, yeah I'm thinking that too.**

**But really, it's because I've been studying A LOT lately for exams -.-' The only time I get to write is on weekends or when I don't get homework. **

**I'm just thankful I'm able to get this next chapter up -.-' *sigh***

**Here's my love for you guys! xoxoxo**

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At home I flicked open a book and buried my head in it. It seemed like too much, so many pages. My phone jingled on the table beside me.

"Hello?"

"Kukai? Haven't you got homework to do?"

"Homework…Pfft. Future football stars don't do homework."

"…They don't?"

"Of course not. Because we've got our first match later on."

"Later on? Are you kidding me?"

"Not really. I've got a uniform for you, but it's a boys uniform."

"That's fine…I guess."

"Don't bother with your homework, I'll send a first year into your school tomorrow to tell your teachers you were playing a match. Oh, and you'll have to miss school the day after tomorrow, we have an away match that day…"

"Whoa…Kukai, slow down!"

"I know your new to the team, but your going to have to get used to all of this. So I'll stop by your house later on with the uniform. Catch you later!"

Before I got to say anything, he hung up. I took a deep breath and went downstairs. I passed the kitchen and figured that if I was going to be playing football later, that I'd need a full stomach. I rummaged through the cupboards, tearing through things like tea bag boxes and sauce packets. A packet of instant pasta would do. I sat down and shovelled it into my mouth, constantly looking at my watch. When I was finished, happy that I had scraped up every last scrap from the plate, I rinsed the plate under the tap.

"Hey, Hinamori! Why aren't you dressed yet, huh?" a voice came from behind me and I turned around in surprise.

"Wh-Who let you in? I'm still in my pyjamas , you know!"

"Your mom let me in and I came to give you this," he grinned and held up a paper bag.

"Oh…right. Th-thanks."

I took it off him and he smiled his signature 'imperfect' smile as he watched me march up to my room. I opened the bag and pulled out everything in sight; a white t-shirt with an '11' on the back, a pair of forest-green shorts, a pair of white socks with green stripes and a pair of red and white studded boots. I quickly slipped the clothes then my eyes caught something at the bottom of the bag; a green hat with an orange star on it. I smiled and dug my fairy floss hair into the cap, before skipping down the stairs.

"You ready?!"

"Sure!"

"Okay, your good to walk to the school, right?"

I nodded and left a note for my mother on the fridge. Then we hopped out the door and I followed close behind him.

"_So this is Kukai's school…"_ I thought, as we walked inside. I had been in the gym hall, the dressing rooms and everywhere outside. But now, two dozen boys stood, knock-kneed, around the reception area, chatting and laughing.

"Hey, Hinamori!" a boy shouted and waved to me to come over, "You don't make a bad guy, do you?"

"Eh?" I yelled, a little too loud, "Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"I'm guessing that was an insult," another boy joked, putting his hands to his chest.

I looked down and blushed. Of course, I had no breasts. Even if they did notice, did they have to mention it?

"Hey, guys, stop it with the weird talk," Kukai came to my defence, "We're here to play a game, not start a fight, right, Hinamori?" I nodded.

"As expected from you Souma-sempai! Your so dedicated!" a younger boy with scruffy-brown hair admired Kukai's words.

I was kicking myself that I still didn't know every player's name. I've been watching them play long enough, I just called them "that guy with the green hair" or "the one with the odd socks". It never occurred to me that I didn't know their names.

"Alright everyone!" the coach called out in his bellowing voice and clapped his hands, "We're up against a pretty easy team today but it's no time for you to slack off! We're going out there to win and to get that trophy in the end! Right?!"

All the boys shouted and nodded in approval before clattering outside to the pitch. Kukai stayed behind with me as the coach spoke with the receptionist.

"Ahh…Souma, so this is the lad that you brought for us?" he said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"He looks strange, but I can assure you, he's almost as good as me," Kukai replied, giving my a wink, which made me laugh.

"Alright then! If you play as good as Souma preaches, you're for us. Maybe we'll consider on taking you in next year?"

"Umm…yes, sir."

He patted me on the back a little too hard and I rubbed my shoulder going outside.

"Promise me something?" Kukai whispered as he took his hoodie off in the dugout.

"Yeah?"

"That you won't get slaughtered out there."

He nodded to a bunch of boys huddled up at the other side of the pitch. Not normal boys; big, heavy boys. I'm pretty sure one didn't have a neck under all that…bulk.

"Eww…is that normal?"

"Depends on which planet your from."

"And this is meant to be an easy match?"

"These guys, are all bark. They train all the time for this competition, but they never win. We usually take them down easily. Don't sweat it too much, ne?"

"S-Sure. I'll try not to."

"And whatever you do, don't blow your cover. These guys play pretty dirty without people finding out about…you."

The coach screamed at us and we all piled onto the pitch. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect position as striker, in the middle of the action. I almost skipped to my position, but took at deep breath, stuck out my chest and walked casually over. I hoped I didn't look as stupid as I felt. I huge boy came and stood beside me. I was guessing he was much older then me. I guessed that he was who I was marking, also.

"Hey, new kid!" he called, in a deep, husky voice.

"Eh? Me?"

"Yeah. When did you join?"

"Uhh…Umm…just this week?"

"And you were good enough to join the football team?" he snorted. I just laughed.

"Yeah, I guess you'll just have to find out," I replied cheekily and wished my hair was down so that I could flick it in his face.

"You kidding? Look at the size of you, you're tiny. I'd say you'll get trampled on my our team!"

"Like I said, you'll see."

I acted like I was cool and collected, but really, I was shaking. What if the beefy boy beside me was right? His team was huge and looked much stronger then me. Not to mention, that I was a girl among about four dozen tall boys whose shirts were already covered in dirt. This was no place for a girl like me. Before I even noticed, Kukai had tipped the ball and was roughly wrestling past someone from the opposing team. My instinct suddenly told me to drop out; I was too fired up with adrenaline to play a game, never mind win it.

Kukai, of course, called and passed the ball to me. My marker stood ready beside me, waiting for my next move. I began to make my way steadily at a fast pace to the goal. Two boys were now running beside me. The one on my right tackled me, so I held the ball in front of me until the boy on my left ran past me, not noticing. I was trapped in a corner. The other boy was close behind me and ready for when I slipped up to steal the ball from me. I couldn't wait too long, or he was bound to tackle me again. Instead, I tapped the ball gently to the right, then swiftly kicked it to the right, while running with it.

I was right next to their goal now, all there was left to do was take a shot. Their goalie, the poor skinny thing compared to the rest, stood in a ready position with his hands out. In the corner of the goal, he quivered, leaving me a nice shot at the other side. A few boys behind me were shouting, probably at him, angrily. I took my chance and kicked the ball as hard as I could and sent in flying to the back of the next. The poor, confused goalie scratched his head and apologised to the rest of the team who could hear.

Towards the end of the match, we were about to win at 4 - 0. Kukai had shined through the whole match, getting two goals himself. Losing was not an option at this point. It was the opposing team's kick out and I was up front, glad to get all the action. My marker stood beside me, red from either anger or exhaustion. He had been moody the entire match, getting worse every time our team scored or came close to scoring. He cursed at me a few times, surprising me very little and turned out to be the most hot-tempered on the team. The ball was kicked out and a member from our team stopped it with his chest and ran closer to the goal with it.

I quickly sprinted to join him, hoping to get a chance with the ball, also. My marker kept close behind me, much to my annoyance; our member with the ball wasn't going to pass to me soon if he didn't clear off. My marker was getting so angry, he obviously didn't want me to get the ball. I suppose you could say I proved him wrong. He nudged me as hard as he could, sending me flying to the ground. The ball was picked up and the game stopped. The first aid kid ran over to help me.

"Can you stand, Hinamori?" he asked, putting my arm over his shoulder.

"Y-Yeah, sure."

"Is there anything you need?"

"K-Kukai. Get Kukai."

He dashed off to get Kukai and I walked to the dug-out myself. I was then I realised, that my leg was gushing blood. A player had stood on me. How dare he scar the leg of a beautiful woman! I sat down and rested my head on the wall of the dug-out. I was so…tired? Apparently, I fainted because when I woke up, I woke to; "Amu? Are you okay? Are you awake now?"

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L**ike it? Hate it? Oh my, hate is such a strong word! Please, if you are going to review and be mean, use "strong dislike" :) :) :) LOL!!!!**

**Lot's of love! x**


	3. Chapter 3

**I haven't visited in so long, that I've already forgotten how to upload chapters ^_^' Forgive me.**

**This is quite a short and lazy chapter, but I have another on the way thanks to knowing where I want this to go...kind of :)**

**I decided to come back after finding some really nice comments in my inbox and couldn't deny people. Plus, I had stopped writing Fan Fiction because I felt it pulled me away from the non-fan fiction related novels I was writing, when I realised recently that writing fan fiction is good practice, good fun and all about sharing ideas.  
**

**So here goes my not-so-best-shot at chapter 3, enjoy~**

**~ Kitty x ( Who is far from dead :) )  
**

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"There, there Amu," he said, gently stroking my gauze-bandaged leg. We're in the school infirmary.

He held a cloth covered in blood, probably used to stop my bleeding. I propped myself onto my elbows and rubbed my throbbing head - Kukai watched my every move. I swung my legs around and tried to stand up.

"W-Wait, where do you think you're going?" he asked before leaping from his seat to press my head back to the pillow underneath me.

"I want to finish the match," I told him, trying to push his arm away, but failing miserably.

"The match is long over. You need to stay here until your headache is gone."

"Fine…" I stared around the room while he flicked through a sports magazine. The infirmary was clean, white and boring. I could hear Kukai breathing beside me. "This isn't fair. Can't I go now?"

"I'll do something to make it up to you if you wait here. How does ice cream sound?"

There was a short pause while I thought about it, "Okay. But you have to promise to buy me whatever flavour I want."

"Sure."

Kukai gently pushed my hair out of my face. The infirmary nurse walked in and sat by her desk. She swivelled around in the chair before turning towards us; she was young and kept her chestnut hair down in a bob and smiled at us with dimples and blush on her cheeks.

"So what have we got here?" she asked, petting my arm.

"Nothing. I'm fine," I told her, crossing my arms.

Kukai chuckled beside me and explained that I had fainted after receiving a nasty injury on the field.

"And you brought her here? By yourself?" It was then I realised Kukai's hat had fallen off my head and my long hair was exposed.

"By myself. Could have used a little help though-" he glanced over at me to see what kind of mood I was in before he finished his sentence, "-she's so heavy!"

"Kukai!" I yelled and punched him as hard as I could.

"Tch-" he bent double clutching his stomach but still managed a smile, squinting his eyes.

"What a cute couple!" the nurse said before returning to her desk.

"COUPLE?" we exclaimed simultaneously but looked a each other and blushed.

I fell asleep after that and was woken twenty minutes later by Kukai and the nurse when it was time for the school to close. I explained to the nurse that I was feeling fine and well enough to go home. She asked me if I had a first aid kit at home and showed me how to change the bandages when needed. Kukai took my bag and put it on his back when we began walking home. My leg ached but I didn't dare tell him, I didn't want him to worry about me. He took a turn down a road I didn't know and I walked faster to catch up with him.

"H-Hey, where are you going?" I called after him.

"Just follow me," he said, taking my hand and leading me down to the very end of the road.

The street lamps turned on as it was getting late. I was still looking down at my hand which was being held by his. Kukai was a friend, right? Then why did I get such a stinging, pressing feeling on my heart? He looked back at my to announce we were 'here'. He saw me staring at our hands and smiled. I looked around to see an ice cream parlour beside us that said 'Gelati' on top. Kukai ordered lime ice cream in a cone then turned to me.

"What about you? I promised I'd pay."

"I do have to take an offer like that while you're in the mood. I'll have a 99."

We walked home eating the ice cream and Kukai offered to wait outside my house with me until I had finished even though he had finished his long before me. He laughed at me and asked if I was in a hurry to eat mine because I had ice cream on my cheek. He wiped the bit of ice cream from my cheek with his thumb. I blushed at the thought at how close he was to me.

When I was done he bid me goodbye and left. I hurried up to my bedroom and pressed my face against the window. I was just in time to see him walking down the street, kicking a football against it's walls and the neighbour's rubbish bins. I wondered what he'd do for the rest of the night, if his brothers would be home when he got home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, this chapter took longer to write than I thought…and I wasn't even able to include everything I wanted to! But that's okay, I'm aiming to have as many, if not, more chapters than my other Shugo Chara fan fiction Ikuto's Visit. **

**If you haven't noticed, one of the girls in this chapter has a problem with saying the word "right?" it kind of made me laugh because I myself have a problem with saying "like" and "you know?" I bet everyone reading this has something they say a little too often. Go on, post it! :D I'm interested now!**

**I do not own Mark's and Spencer's Cloudy Lemon Soda or Coca Cola…but I do have a few cans in the fridge XD**

**

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I was able to stroll into school the next day, happy I didn't have to do training or any matches that day. Although I would be missing school tomorrow, and that meant missing a Guardian's meeting also. Behind me, my four Shugo Chara skipped in mid air, acting more like the good and evil angels that belong on my shoulders than guardian angels.

"You'll have to tell Tadase at break time that you can't attend tomorrow! Yay!" Ran cheered.

"I think you should go to the Guardian's meeting, Amu-chan," Dia disagreed, shaking her little head.

"No, no Amu! Football is your chance to get close to Kukai, Amu. You can never have too many male friends…" Miki began, but then stared into space, drooling.

Suu hadn't said anything, so I asked her what she thought I should do.

"Bake Kukai a Lemon Meringue Pie, Amu," she replied, smiling, "Nobody can resist the bitter-sweet taste of Lemon Pie."

We all laughed as Miki hit Suu on the head with a paintbrush. Once inside, I opened the door to find Tadase reading a book on English in the corner. I took a deep breath and prepared what I would say in my head…and hopefully what he'd reply with. I reluctantly walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Amu-chan, good morning!" he said, placing his book on the table, "Everything alright."

"Good morning, Tadase. I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead." He rested his head on his hand.

"Is it okay if I miss the meeting tomorrow? I won't be able to make it."

He sighed. "We can't afford to miss meetings at this time, Amu. We still need to plan something nice for the end of the year, you know?"

I pouted and pleaded him.

"Okay, okay," he giggled, "Just call one of us tomorrow evening to see what you missed, won't you? What are you doing tomorrow anyway?"

"Playing a football match for Kukai's school." I beamed, I liked saying that.

"Oh." he looked away as the bell rang. The teacher wasn't long flying through the doorway.

"I'm collecting your homework!" he called as the ones at the back moaned, "Hinamori, yours isn't necessary, someone told me about your match, congratulations. Now sit down everyone and stop talking, class has begun."

School is always so uneventful; teachers going off-topic and small talk at lunch time. I much preferred being called out of class for Guardian's meetings, but of course, I wouldn't make tomorrows. We all sat at our table in The Royal Garden munching on biscuits and pretending to listen to Tadase. As soon as the bell rang for the end of school, I skipped out the gates with my bag in my hand.

At the dinner table my parents discussed me playing for the boy's team.

"Oh, Amu-chan! I'm so proud of you!" my mother squealed passing the bowl of rice around the table.

"I don't like it," my father said, crossing his arms, "I don't want Amu-chan to be around so many boys!"

"Oh, Papa," my mother sighed, laying a hand on his shoulder, "Don't you remember when we played tennis together?"

"Yes…"

"Don't you remember how fun it was?"

"W-Well, yes."

"Amu-chan needs to experience the same fun we had with school sports! Be proud of her for making the team, okay?"

"I won't be going to school tomorrow," I said calmly, then taking a bite of a piece of chicken, "I have a football match." I then walked to the kitchen sink and dumped my empty plate in the soapy water and crossed my arms.

"Our Amu-chan is so cool!" my parents chanted as I left the room. I didn't tell them about my injury.

He nodded. I went to bed early, not being able to wait for the day ahead. I flipped through my text messages to find Kukai's text;

_Match starts at 11. But don't bother going in _

_to class before then! :P - Kukai xxx_

A whole day off school, can you imagine it? I've never had one to date, I just went to school each morning and had to bare it. But now I had an excuse to wake up late, roll out of bed and spend the day having fun. Which is exactly what I did the next morning. I called Kukai at nine to arrange for us to meet up beforehand.

"Sure, Hinamori. Meet you at the crossroads near the school? We have a bit of time before the match starts to go somewhere if you'd like," I heard his tired, muffled voice say on the phone. I could almost imagine I woke Kukai up by calling him and that he was standing in his room with messy hair and boxer shorts on yawning. I laughed at the thought.

"Got you. I'm racing you there, right?" I asked, knowing it would only encourage Kukai to get ready and make his way down faster.

"You're on!"

I waited for ten minutes at the crossroads staring at my watch. When I turned to my right to see if he was coming, I saw a flash of his red hair and green football uniform running towards me. He waved and called my name, I smiled in response.

"I bet you were already dressed and ready when you called me!" he complained, leaning on his knees and taking a breath, but still managing to smile.

"You caught me, I was," I replied, afraid to hear his reply.

"You cheat!" he yelled, hitting my head and ruffling my hair.

"Ow!" I cried, scrunching up my face, but secretly enjoying the attention.

We walked down the road together- well, Kukai walked while I skipped- and Kukai eventually stopped at a café. The outside was painted beige (almost like milky coffee itself!) and it's name was on the top in a cocoa-coloured, curly font. Young people sat inside laughing and reading magazines.

"This place looks nice," Kukai said eventually, not taking his eyes off the menu, "Want to go here later?"

"Alright. Only if they sell hot chocolate," I said, pushing him gently out of the way to see the menu for myself.

We continued on until we reached the school. Kukai told me that we still had an hour left to kill and that he'd give me a proper tour of the school this time. He brought me from the gym to the library and the science rooms to the art rooms. People walking through the corridors gave Kukai high-fives and asked about me. His tour brought me through to each one of his classrooms, he finally stopped at the canteen where we each bought a drink from the shop and sat down at a table.

"So what do you think?" he asked, sipping a can of Cloudy Lemon.

"It's fantastic!" I exclaimed, setting down my Coke, "The art room is the best! Imagine how fun it would be to use those computers for graphic design! I can't wait until I start high school!"

"Neither can I." He smiled.

The bell rang for half ten and a group of girls clattered through the canteen door and some took a seat beside us to wait while the others lined up at the shop to buy food before they went to class again. The girls beside us spoke to each other before they noticed Kukai.

"Hi Souma-kun!" one called, standing up and waving. She winked.

"Hi," he replied, but continued to talk to me.

"We missed your match the other day," another with purple hair said, taking a seat beside him, "But that's okay, right? We'll make it to the finals this year and we'll see you there, right?" She flicked her hair.

"You bet," he said a little more enthusiastically, "If you're cheering for me…"

"Who else?" a blonde girl with sapphire eyes giggled.

"Who's the girl?" the first girl asked, nodding towards me.

"Hinamori Amu. She's joined the team," he said proudly.

"_The_ Hinamori Amu?" "The one who dated a teacher?" "Really? I heard she goes drinking every night!" "Doubt it, right? But someone did say to me once that she-"

I stood up and kept my head down. The girls turned around and stared - they were all silent.

"If you want to believe those rumours, go ahead. But just remember, you're only as sad and the rumours themselves if you spread them," I said coldly, sitting back down and not even looking at their faces to see their response.

_Oh God…why did I just do that? Now it will be worse! They'll make even worse rumours about me, they'll hate me! No, I did the right thing. Now they'll think twice before saying anything about me. _So many things ran through my head.

The bell rang again. "You had better go back to class," Kukai explained and they packet their bags and left. I was sure they were still looking at me.

"Way to go, Hinamori!" Kukai cheered, patting me on the back.

"Huh?"

"You told them off! That was so cool, pity I didn't get any of it on camera… You'll be the talk of the school!"

"It seemed like I was already the 'Talk of the School'."

"Well, yeah, but this time it will be for good reasons!" I was quiet for a minute before he said, "We better go too."

We stood up and our football boots smashed against the canteen tiles like girls' heels. Outside, most of the team had already gathered on the pitch and were huddled around the dug-out chatting and trying to stay warm. It wasn't a day for wearing shorts, that's for sure. I scooped my hair into my green hat and sat down beside them. They were making fun of the other team.

"That school have the worst defender ever, seriously, is that all they could get?" number five laughed, nodding towards a skinny, shaking defender with blond hair on the other side of the pitch sitting in the opposite dug-out.

"Never mind _him_," another boy said, "See their mid-field? I remember him from last year, he plays on the left. _He's blind. _He doesn't even wear contacts!"

"No, the best yet- see the one with the black hair?" Kukai began, I was surprised he would, "He doesn't even play soccer, he plays Australian football. He's been known to use his hands so much that they usually just put him as a sub." The rest of the team laughed.

"We can use all these to our advantage," I agreed, but the others just looked at me, "Concentrate on the stronger players, mark them. We can leave the weaker players."

"That's true, Hinamori, but it's up to the coach. Speak to him about it."

Just as one of the players said that, the coach came running towards us, excited.

"Okay team! Gather around!" he called, clapping his hands to get our attention. "This should be a walk through the park for you, a piece of cake! Beat this team and we're through to the quarter finals!" The team cheered and laughed. "Now, we're keeping our usual positions. But Yuki, I'd like you to keep an eye on your marker, always be ahead of him, got it? Good, now get out there and take position!"

The team rushed onto the pitch. It was only then I realised how excited I was. The other team came running onto the pitch also, the skinny defender was my marker - at least I didn't have a challenge this time around. He shook my hand and nervously stood beside me. Ran floated over to me from the dug-out, where she was playing with Daichi.

The ball was kicked off and went flying to the other side of the pitch. How boring. It bounced between player to player of each team. I felt a spark of excitement anytime someone from our team got the ball and kicked it further down the pitch, but it vanished when someone from the opposite team got the ball. _Come on_, I thought, _I haven't even gotten a chance yet! _The ball came rolling down the grass towards me slowly, the members from the other team screaming at my marker to run after the ball - not if I could help it. I tore down the grass after it, stopping it with my foot. I passed to another forward while running towards the goal. He passed back. I gave my best shot but their goalie caught the ball just over his head. _Shoot. _

He kicked it out from the goal and Kukai stopped it easily with his chest and kicked it towards me, as if to give me another chance. When he was closer to the goal, I passed back. He shot and scored. A few players gave him a high five and pat him on the back. He winked at me. I tried to hide my smile, I was supposed to be playing as a boy. The game felt so uneventful, the score remained 1 - 0 to us for such a long time, I was sure that was how it would end. When one of our mid-field players received the ball, I took the chance and yelled for it. The player was a little reluctant, but he took the chance and passed to me.

I was delighted. I quickly ran with the ball, my marker was close behind me and tried to tackle under the orders of his fat, bald little coach. I swiftly dodged him, getting closer to the goal. I stopped before another defender. _Oh no_, I thought, _how am I going to get past him? _I had to do whatever cam first to my head, which was to kick the ball between his legs. Having more balance than him, I was able to run around him with no trouble at all and collect the ball again. The goalie stood in the middle of the goal, slightly to the left. This was my chance. I kicked to the right. I crossed my fingers. The goalie missed - score! It felt great to get a hug from some of the players before the sound of referee's whistle.

"That was fantastic!" Kukai shouted, wiping his forehead as we walked down the road home.

"Wasn't it?" I was as happy as a little puppy. "I can't believe I managed to get that goal in before the match ended!"

"Plus we make a good team."

"Yes, we do!"

We stopped outside the same café we saw that morning and entered, there were less people now that most our age were already in school at this stage. We took a seat on a sofa beside each other and a perky waitress with a ponytail took our orders. Mine looked amazing, it was flooding with whipped cream and topped with mini marshmallows. We sat for such a long time in the corner of that café, talking and stirring our drinks in circles. It was warm and cosy, it smelt strongly of coffee, I was alone with Kukai - and we'd never run out of things to talk about.

"I'm getting a text," I said suddenly, taking my phone out of my pocket and interrupting a story he was telling me.

"Who's it from?" he asked, leaning over.

I covered the screen with my hand as if it were private. "Utau."

"Oh. She's pretty busy lately, huh?"

"When was the last time you saw her properly?" I shoved the phone back deep into my pocket.

"Not in a long time. We ate ramen together. I walked her home."

"Eh? What is she to you?"

He paused for a minute, then looked over to me. He had a look on his face that I could read like katakana, it said "Are you jealous? Or are you doubting me?" and I was surprisingly accurate, because what he did next proved it.

Kukai leaned towards me and kissed me. It wasn't like what the older girls told me, it was much more nice - much more delicate. The longer we stayed like that, the more I noticed; his lips were just as soft as they looked, he tasted like sweet coffee, his hand was on my waist. When he finally broke away, I felt the cold rush to my waist where his hand once was.

"You're the one I like, Amu."

* * *

**Hi, this is your God, Kukai, speaking. I'm here to educate you in the world of sports. Here's my dictionary of today's sport related words, hope they help your reading and understanding of the story:**

**Football boots: **Also known as studded boots, they're runners with metal or rubber 'studs' protruding from the bottom. In this case, Amu and I are wearing metal ones. Please don't be stupid like us and wear these inside - they ruin wooden and tiled flooring.

**Dug-out: **At each side of most good football, hockey and other pitches, there are two to four dug-outs. A dug-out is a small, sheltered seating area for subs and important people to sit at. Some can be literally 'dug-out', meaning it's in the ground, and sometimes not. They can vary a lot in size and shape but always have a curved top to shelter players from the rain when they're not playing. They can be warm when a lot of people sit under them.

**Defender, Forward and mid-field: **The three positions in a football match. Defenders help the Goalie protect their goal from Forwards. Forwards get the most action in the front, as they score most of the goals. And the mid-fields start the game and get the ball from one side of the pitch to the other.

**Australian football: **This sport is taken from Gaelic football (which Kitty was originally going to use, but she thought more people would know Australian football…). Both sports are similar to soccer but players use their hands and legs to dribble the ball. In Gaelic football, the ball must be bounced off the ground or off one's foot every two steps. The goals have two poles on either side and points can be scored by hitting the ball over the bar, through the poles or by scoring a goal (which is worth three points).

**Subs: **Shorts for 'substitutes'. Subs are extra players who sit on the sidelines. They can be swapped with players on the field at anytime and can replace players who have been injured or sent off. Remember, our team doesn't have any subs this year! We have to be very careful! In the case where all 21 players are not present, a sub must be used. Sometimes, depending on the team you're against and the seriousness of the game, you can play without all 21, which is what we did when Amu was injured.

**Marking: **Is the act of being assigned to one player on the opposite team. Eg. The left Forward marks the right Defender. Players can be asked to mark two players at a time or two players can be asked to mark the same player on the opposite team. We'll see more of this later on.

**Quarter Finals: **The winner of quarter finals move on to the semi finals.

**The difference between shooting and scoring: **Shooting is taking a shot at a goal. Scoring is actually succeeding.


End file.
